Six Year Old Emperor Has Taken The Throne

            Emperor Shunzhi took the throne at age five in 1643 because his father Huang Taiji had died.

          Emperor Shunzhi was so young when he took charge of a whole dynasty. He tried to do everything that he could to make his people feel safe and welcome in his dynasty. Since he was the Emperor he had to start acting like one, and take charge of his people and the people around him.

He appointed bondservants as people in charge of the internal palace administration and supervisors of the imperial workshops that produced porcelain, silk and other luxury goods for imperial use.

He wanted people to like him as their new emperor so while he was emperor he kept taxes to a moderate amount. The taxes were also at a moderate amount because of the population. Taxes during this period in time were said to be one of the most moderate in Chinese imperial history.

Also in 1646 Shunzhi re-established the state examinations. The state examinations had been discontinued during the period of dynastic transition.

Many people had doubted that Shunzhi would do a very good job as emperor. They thought that there would be so much older, and more experienced emperor’s that could do a better job, but Huang Taiji picked Shunzhi.

Emperor Shunzhi did prove all of those who were against him wrong though. He turned out to be a very courageous, and strong emperor. It didn’t matter to him how old he was, all he cared about was making the Qing Dynasty a better dynasty in China.

Making the Qing Dynasty A Better Place

The Qing Dynasty believes in a Confucianism Philosophy. This is the Philosophy that you need to respect your elders and the people around you. In the Qing Dynasty the people that you need to respect would be the emperors. The emperors sometimes get too much power. They think that they can do whatever they want when they want to do it. Everyone should have a say in what they think is right not just rulers.

 The reason why the Qing Dynasty should have a new philosophy to believe in is because, everyone should have a say in what they want, not just rulers. In the Legalism philosophy it is believed that strict laws will make people good. In the Confucianism philosophy (Which is what the Qing Dynasty is in now) they think that everyone was born good, but that isn’t always the case. Another reason why the Qing Dynasty should change Philosophies is because they study Confucianism in schools. This should change because the teachers are teaching the kids to let people get in the way of their beliefs. If they really want to make a difference in that dynasty they should be able to stick up for themselves and not let other people rule them. The third reason why the Qing Dynasty should change their beliefs about Confucianism is because of the different groups that Confucianism put the people into. The highest people that you would look up to were Emperors, Scholar Bureaucrats, and Landowners. That was high class and then there was middle class and lower class. Since the Qing Dynasty believed in Confucianism the middle and lower class people were put into those bad groups. Everyone should be able to be in one big group, and everyone should be able to speak their own mind.

The other option that the Qing Dynasty has is to keep practicing Confucianism. This is not a very smart decision to make because they are telling people to not think for themselves. Just to take orders from other people and not disagree at all.  I think someone would disagree with my statement because they would want to have Confucianism. They would probably believe that you should respect the higher class people and just go along with what they say no matter what. They would believe that the higher class people knew that most and the lower class people didn’t know anything and that they were dumb, but that isn’t the case. I think that changing the belief of Confucianism to something else is the right thing to do because it is teaching people to stand up for what they believe in. I would recommend that if you do not change the practice of Confucianism then at least not make high, middle, and lower classes, make everyone at least have a say and then the higher classes get to make the final decision. Something that I can acknowledge about practicing Confucianism is that those who are afraid to speak out loud or sharing their opinions don’t have to. They have someone that does it for them.

The Qing Dynasty should be open to new ideas and they should take under consideration to change to belief of Confucianism to a different practice.

Qing Dynasty Map

This is a map of the Qing Dynasty. (1644-1911) This dynasty was the last dynasty in the whole world. The area that is orange is the Qing Dynasty. The area that is not orange and that is around the orange are the current borders of China. The blue lines are rivers. There were many emperors of the Qing Dynasty and every single one of them wanted to expand the land. There are many different cities on this map. There is, Beijing, Mukden, Tianjin, Hong Kong, Guangshou. There are also two very important rivers on this map. The rivers are called the Huang He River and the Yangtze River. These were both major transportation rivers for the Chinese people. Even though modern day China is much bigger now, the Qing Dyansty had a lot of land. 

Interview with Emperor Shunzhi

Reporter- It's great to see you Emperor Shunzhi. I hope you had a very safe and nice trip here. I just have a few questions to ask you.


Shunzhi- Sounds great! Let's get started right away.


Reporter- Emperor Shunzhi, since you are only six years old, some might say you might not have the experience that other more older rulers might have. Yes you are young and you might not have the experience of other, more older emperors but tell me... what was the hardest part about making the government of the Qing Dynasty?


Shunzhi- To tell you the truth, I did not run into as many problems when making the government of the Qing Dynasty. It is true that I might not of had the experience that others had but I had people around me who supported my decisions. I always tried to make decisions based on what I thought would benefit my people. The problem that I faced the most was people arguing with me about my decisions. Many people thought that my ideas were not good. I always had to change my decisions based on what everyone else wanted. Overall I thought that the government turned out very well if I say myself. (Haha)


Reporter- I can also say that your government turned out very well, but tell me, how do you like being an emperor at such a young age? Do you find it challenging at all?


Shunzhi- Well, being an emperor at such a young age has it's ups and downs. Some of the ups to being an emperor at such a young age is that I usually get to do whatever I want. Every kid wants to be lazy and relax sometimes. I get served so such because I am an emperor. That is pretty amazing. Some of the downs to being a emperor is that I don't really get to be a kid. You know what I mean? I don't get to hang around with friends or go to the food market and buy food. I have to sit in my room and get served. I'm not saying that is always bad, but sometimes it can get too much. I want to sometimes play games and, well just be a kid. I sometimes get told that I can't have fun, and that I just have to do work. Even though I am the emperor I don't always get what I want. Being an emperor is not just fun and games. Overall it wasnt too challenging being an emperor.


Reporter- I totally understand where you are coming from. You want to just be a kid sometimes and that is really hard when you are an emperor. I just have a few more questions for you. 


Shunzhi- That is fine, take all the time you need!


Reporter- Ok great. Why do you think that Confucianism is better for the Qing Dynasty then Daoism?


Shunzhi- There are many reasons why I think that Confucianism is better than Daoism. One reason that Confucianism is better is because Daoism is the belief that there should be less laws and that there should be a more natural society. This is not good because if someone breaks a law then they will have no punishment. They will continue to do bad things and they will never learn their lesson. Another reason is that they believe that everyone will be good and will do good things if they live in simple lives of quiet meditation. If everyone does that then they will do good in life and never get in trouble. That is not the case at all. People need to look up to their elders and have consequences for their actions. You need to work hard in life to do good in it. You have to be respectful and kind. You cant just breeze through life doing quiet meditation, it just does not make sence.


Reporter- I feel the same way! Ok we only have one more question and then you are free to go.


Shunzhi- Sounds Great!


Reporter- What was the feeling that you had when people said you were a great emperor and that everyone was so proud of you?


Shunzhi- Wow. I can honestly say that it was the best feeling in the world. Everyone was so proud of me and what I had accomplished. My family and friends were right by my side the whole time. I knew that I could count on them to help me become very successful. I was so happy that I proved people wrong. (Haha) So many people thought that I could never rule a Dynasty. Although it was a very hard job I did it. It was just the best feeling in the world and I really dont know how else to put it.


Reporter- Thank you so much Shunzhi for coming out and talking to us, it really meant a lot!


Shunzhi- No problem any time. It was so much fun sharing my story with you!

The Suspension Bridge

The suspension bridge was invented in China during the Qing Dynasty in 1803. The Qing Dyansty wanted to make the suspension bridge safer for people to use and for people to be able to travel further on it.  This invention was important because it made suspension bridges safer to travel on. Making suspension bridges was a very hard task to complete. People argued about how it should look , and money was a very important asset. Overall suspension bridges were a very important invention during the Qing Dynasty.


Bridges have made a difference all over the world but the Anlan Bridge, (Which was the first suspension bridge) was constructed in 1803, during the time of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty. He Xiande and his wife were in charge of the bridge being built. Before suspension bridges were made people did not have a safe way to cross water or steep gaps. It was not safe to not have bridges so that is why they created them. When suspension bridges were created it was so much easier for people. Before suspension bridges were made it was a lot harder life for not only the Qing people but for everyone in the world.


The suspension bridge has really changed people's lives in many ways. For example, suspension bridges are very strong. If they were not made as strong then they would not be able to hold what they are today like cars. Suspension bridge's hold cars now so it is much easier for people when they are trying to get from one end of the bridge to another. Bridges are very safe now and they are so easy to cross. Even if there are a lot of cars on the bridge and there is a lot traffic it still wont break, that is how strong it is. Overall the suspension bridge is a very safe invention that people of the Qing Dynasty had made and they are very important to us now.

Picking The Best Religion

The Qing Dynasties emperors came to a conclusion to have Confucianism as their religion. The goal of Confucianism was a just and peaceful society. Confucius thought that society worked well when all people acted properly based upon their roles and relationships with other people. This belief was important for society because it taught all people to look up to their elders and be kind, honest, wise and faithful. Confucius taught, "Do not do to others what you would not want done to you." According to Confucianism, there were five basic relationships: ruler and subject, husband and wife, father and son, older sibling and younger sibling, and friend and friend. Those with authority must set a good example for others. This is important because if you do not set good examples for other peple then everyone will be bad. No one will be respectful and that will not be a good society. Another religion that the Qing emperors could have picked was Daoism. The teachings of Daoism was that there should be less laws and rules and people should live a more natural life. This religion would be a bad religion for the Qing Dynasty because if there are no harsh laws people who get in trouble will never really learn their lesson. They will continue to do bad things because there is no consequences for their actions. These are the reasons why the Qing Emperors picked Confucianism as their religion.

Interesting Facts

The Qing Dynasty ruled for over 300 years. The word "Qing" in chinese actually means "Pure." The reason why the Qing Dynasty lasted for so long was because it was ruled by so many great rulers. All of the rulers worked really hard to make the Qing Dynasty a better place to live. The Qing Dynasty was actually the last Dynasty in the world. The Qing Dynasty took over so much land. By the time the Qing Dynasty was over it had already taken over most of China. These are some interesting facts about the Qing Dynasty.